I Had Tea With Marabelle Today
by Condesce-Kun
Summary: Nancy Clancy is now 12 years old and not mush has changed. After coming home late from Mrs. Devine's, Nancy is surprised to see an old friend... a friend that should have been in the attic with all her other old toys...


Nancy lifted a basket full of flowers and placed them down on the garden table. "Tres magnifique! Your flowers look so lovely Mrs. Devine." She stretched and gave a small twirl before turning back to Mrs. Devine who was depositing a basket of her own. She pushed her sun hat up and wiped a layer of sweat off of her brow. "Oooh Thank *you* Nancy dear. I don't think I would have been able to gather all the flowers in time for the party if you hadn't helped me out today."

Nancy bowed, grinning at her friend. "Pas de probleme! No problem at all. You know I'm always glad to help."

The old woman chuckled and put her hand on Nancy's shoulder. "How about we take a short break before we dethorn these roses." Mrs. Devine paused and turned to the lawn chairs.

"I think all this work is worth some lemonade. Don't you, Madame Nancy?"

Nancy shook her head. "That would be just fantastique!" She smiled and sat down in one of the chairs.

Mrs. Devine chucked. "I'll be right back dear."

Nancy let out a sigh and looked up at the setting sun. Today had been surprisingly fun, even if Bree couldn't help them… but that didn't mater! Tomorrow they would have the fanciest garden party together! Her thoughts were interrupted by the older woman's hummining. Mrs. Devine carried two glasses of lemonade and a small bowl of fruit on a silver tray. She hummed as she made her way over to other chair, setting the tray down on a small table between them. Nancy lifted one of the small picks pierced in a slice of mango. "Merci beaucoup! Thank you very much!"

After their short respite, Mrs. Devine got to work on clipping some of the leaves and thorns off the roses while Nancy sorted them into vases. As she placed the last set of flowers into a vase, Nancy motioned to the fence gate.

"It's getting pretty dark, and I promised my parents I would be home on time for bed."

The woman smiled and threw her arm over Nancy's shoulder and pulled her in for a hug. "Thank you for helping me out. I really appreciate it."

"Any time Mrs. Devine."

Nancy curtsied and skipped out of the garden. The sun had already set, and the moon was just beginning to creep over the horizon, illuminating the sidewalk back to her home. She smiled to herself just as the silhouette of her house appeared in the distance.

As she reached the front door, Nancy found herself humming the same tune Mrs. devine was just a moment before. With a burst of gusto, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Mom! Jo Jo! I'm home! Sorry I'm late, Mrs. Devine and I took a little longer than we thought with the flowers."

Nancy closed the door behind her and was immediately plunged into total darkness. Not even the moonbeams shone through the curtains. "Mom?" she called again. "Dad, are you here?"

She frowned and searched for the lightswitch. It was quite unlike her parents to be in bed this early, and even more unlike them to go to bed when she had not returned home. Usually she returned home to find Dad and Jo Jo playing pirates in the living room, or all three of them watching a movie. She looked around the empty downstairs. Everything was quiet… perhaps they had gone to bed early. Nancy moved in the direction of her sister's bedroom. "Maybe Jo Jo wasn't feeling well and mom is just reading her a story." she mumbled.

Careful not to wake anyone who may be sleeping, Nancy climbed up the stairs and walked up to Jo Jo's room. She creaked open the door… It was dark. Not even the window provided any light. She carefully lifted Jo Jo's blanket up.

Nothing.

She turned around and scanned the dark room. "J... Jo Jo? Jo Jo, this isn't funny!"

She was only met with silence. She growled and walked over to her parent's room. "Mom, Dad? Is Jo Jo with you?"

Nancy pushed the door open a bit more and walked over to the bed. It was… empty. She felt the fear inside rise like steam from a kettle.

"Okay, Jo Jo, if you're hiding somewhere to scare me. I'm coming to find you!" she called out. "This is getting old!" Nancy walked back down the stairs, she entered the kitchen and searched the drawers for a light. Spotting one, she turned it on and faced the living room. That's odd… she could have sworn she left the light on in the living room. She certainly didn't remember turning it off.

"Mommy..?"

"Oh, Nancy. 'Mommy' isn't here anymore!" giggled a disembodied voice that echoed throughout the downstairs.

Nancy gasped and nearly dropped the flashlight as she spun around. "Who are you?! Where are you?!"

The voice giggled again. "Why, Nancy, don't you remember your oldest friend?"

Nancy growled and lifted the flashlight, moving it around to light up different parts of the living room. "I've never met you before in my life! Is this some kind of joke someone is pulling?" Nancy moved the light so that it was shining on the bookshelf closest to the door. "Jo Jo? Are you and Freddy pulling some kind of prank again? You know I don't like it when you do that."

"Guess again!" the voice crowed. "No one here but you and me, Nancy."

Nancy took a few steps towards the center of the room. The voice had to be coming from somewhere close, but it seemed to be coming from all around her at the same time. It reminded her somehow of a gleeful old lady with a high pitched voice. it didn't sound like anyone from the neighborhood, and it was unlikely to be Mrs. Devine, she was back at home! She would never do something like this! Besides, shoe would have to pass her as she walked home.

"I'm getting tired of this game!" Nancy snapped. "Either tell me who you are or I'm calling my friends here so we can deal with you!"

"Oh Nancy, I'm the only friend that you will ever need." The voice sighed. "It pains me to hear you say that you don't like games. You used to love them back when it was just you and me."

"_Show yourself!_" Nancy Quivered.

The voice scoffed. "Well, if you insist. I'm on the table just a few feet away from you."

Nancy narrowed her eyes and adjusted her grip on the flashlight. She took a few steps forward, but stopped when she felt something wet underneath her shoes. Frowning, Nancy lifted up her left leg and moved the light down to examine her shoe.

What she saw made her squeal in fear, and she nearly dropped the light. The underside of her she was lined with a wet coat of deep crimson. It was… warm.

Nancy let out a shriek and took a few steps backwards. "_What did you do_?! _What is this_?!"

"Hmm, well let's see. You just stepped in a mess of blood. I think it's safe to assume that I wasn't out having tea!" The voice began cackling. The cawing laugh echoed throughout the house, causing Nancy to step back a few more paces.

"Please stop," she whimpered. "Whoever you are, just leave!"

"But Nancy, I thought we were best friends!" the voice pouted.

Nancy bit her lip and began walking towards the table again. Each step brought forth more wetness underneath her feet. _It could just be ketchup. This is all just some prank, I'm sure of it!_

She reached the edge of the table and slowly raised her flashlight into the air. The small beam of light bathed the table in an eerie glow, and everything on the table cast a long shadow. "Where are you?" Nancy squeaked. "I... I can't see you!"

"I'm right here, Nancy! Surely you can see what is right in front of you. You are quite the observant lady, after all."

Nancy squinted and leaned in for a closer look at the table. "I can't see you. If you..." Her eyes landed on the one object on her table that was out of place. The one object that she didn't remember putting there before. She let out a small gasp and snapped her head back. "Marabelle?"

"C'est exact!" the voice cried. "You're just as smart as always, Nancy."

"No," Nancy whispered. "No, it isn't possible! You're a _doll_! You're not supposed to talk! "

"Are you sure? Or have you not been listening all this time?" The voice lowered into an other-worldly growl. "I don't appreciate being abandoned by you, Nancy. I am yours and you are mine. That has been the way it works since we met." "Why did you leave me alone for so long Nancy?"

Nancy pulled the light back, draping darkness over the table once again. "No, this isn't possible! You're- You're just a doll! You can't move anywhere!"

"Oh,Nancy, don't you see? A toy as loved as I am always finds its way back to its owner." Marabelle's voice grew menacing again. "_Always._"

"No, you're not alive!" Nancy lowered the light closer to the floor, revealing the full extent of the bloody carnage. Plastic feathers drenched in blood littered the floor. Nanacy's footprints were clearly visible in the carnage. To complete the picture, a small crumpled mass was lying still in the corner nearest to her. She wailed in fear and backed away. "What did you do to my sister?!"

Marabelle giggled. "Nancy, that's not your silly little sister. I'm not sure where _she_ is. Let's just leave it at this: you and I are the only living creatures in this whole house!"

"You're not alive!" Nancy screamed. "You're just a doll!" She raised the light to illuminate the room even more. "I know you're just some - some- _fou_ pretending to be Marabelle! Get out here so I can- can-!"

"Nancy, I already told you that I'm on the table. It's me: Marabelle. I'm your best friend!"

"I don't know why you moved Marabelle from my room, but my daddy will make you wish you never stepped foot in here!"

Marabelle chuckled. "Nancy, Nancy, Nancy. If you think that that moronic gent is any more alive than your little friends, think again. I wouldn't have been able to get here otherwise."

Tears began welling up in Nancy's eyes, and she began backing away from the table. "I... I'm going to get the Mrs. Devine now," she said through her sobs. "We're going to burn you to ash!"

"I'm sorry, Nancy. I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

Nancy growled and threw her flashlight directly at Marabelle. The shot hit the doll and immediately fractured the porcelain surface. The light illuminated for a few moments before it slowly rolled off the table, leaving nothing but a dim red light on the floor.

Nancy took a few tentative steps towards the table and picked up the now wet flashlight. No more Marabelle. "How did this happen?" she whispered.

"Now Nancy, you really didn't think that you could get rid of me that easily, did you?"

Nancy jumped into the air with a yelp, dropping the light as she did. It made a soft *click* as it hit the ground, forcing the house into darkness once more. "No!" she wailed. "Go away!"

"I told you, Nancy, toys like me always find their way back to those who loved them the most. Remember when I was your only friend?" Marabelle sighed. When she spoke next, Nancy heard the voice over her left shoulder. "All of those nights spent learning French and having tea parties. We would sneak into Mom's study after dark and reading all of the books that we wanted until sunrise! Don't you miss that? You didn't have to abandon me for your friends! How could you leave inside all day?"

Nancy wheeled around and shot another beam of light towards the noise. Nothing. It revealed the bookshelf but nothing else.

"You're going to have to do better than that, Nancy," Marabelle mocked. "Maybe you don't have it in you to hurt your best friend?"

Nancy turned tail and ran towards the front door. "_If I can't hurt her, I need to escape."_ She gripped the doorknob, pulled it to open the door, but the knob popped right off. With a groan of frustration, Nancy stepped back and ran towards the door. She slammed her whole body weight on it, but it didn't budge an inch. She spun around and glared at the darkness. "Open the door, Marabelle!" she yelled.

"Not until you and I have a talk, Nancy." Marabelle replied.

Nancy remembered that the back door didn't have a handle. It may be her way out of the house. _Gonna go to Mrs. Devine. She'll know what to do._ Nancy ran into the kitchen, she unlached the small lock and pulled with all her might.

"Come now, Nancy. You can't get out that easily. We have some serious catching up to do. Why, I hardly know anything about you since I was never able to go outside with you anymore."

"SHUT UP!" Nancy snarled. She bolted in the direction of the stairs, running towards her bedroom window. As she reached it, she tried opening it. Out of frustration she threw the flashlight at the window. It bounced right off of the glass, ricocheting right back towards her. She threw herself at the ground and the light whizzed past her head, hitting the wall above her bed before falling to the pillow. "This isn't possible," she whispered. "A doll can't do this."

Nancy felt a small pressure on her back; a pressure that reminded her of the times that she had let Marabelle ride there when she was carrying her around. "Nancy, back here," Marabelle whispered in her ear.

Nancy yelped and leaped into the air, but the pressure of Marabelle on her back was still there. Nancy ran towards the curtains covering the balcony window and grabbed them in her fists. She yanked them back as hard as she could, but they didn't move in the slightest. She lost her grip on them and the force of her momentum knocked her off balance. She tumbled backwards out of the room, narrowly managing to avoid falling down the stairs.

"There's no getting out of our talk, Nancy. I just want to sit down and talk like the friends I know we are."

"_You're not my friend_!"Nancy screeched. "Get out of my house!"

Nancy began kicking up and down in an attempt to throw Marabelle off of her, but the doll stayed fixed to her back as if glued there. She ran over to the nearest corner and rubbed her back on it in an attempt to scrape the porcelain mass off, but it was no use.

"Nancy, I must ask that you stop this nonsense at once. How unlady like." Marabelle chided. "It's like I said, I just want to talk. I did what I did to your friends so that we could be alone just like the old days when you were younger!"

"Stop it! Get away from me!"

"Let's go into the kitchen and we can have a midnight snack and read just like we used to!" Nancy heard Marabelle sniffle. "Don't you love me anymore?"

"No I don't!" Nancy screamed as she began kicking again. "Let me out of here! Get off of me!"

Marabelle giggled and Nancy felt the porcelain hand pat her on the head. "Naaaaancyyy, don't you at least want to try having tea parties again? Who knows? You could really like it. A tea party could jog your memory about the old days."

"No! Go away and leave me alone!"

Marabelle groaned, and Manacy felt her crawl onto her head. "Nancy, if you don't stop kicking around, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to take drastic measures to make sure you and I spend time tonight."

"Stop! Go away and let me out of here!" Nancy bolted towards the door and slammed her body into it. "UNLOCK THE DOOR, MARABELLE!"

"Nancy, I'm going to count to three. If you don't stop screaming like a child at nap time I'm going to have to make sure you quiet down."

"Please just leave me alone!" Nancy sobbed. "I wanna get out of here!"

"One..."

Nancy's sobs became louder, and she continued slamming her body into the door. "J-just l-leave me al-lone!

"Two..."

"Please just leave me alone, Marabelle!" Nancy begged. "I don't want to be your friend!"

"Three."

Bree hummed an upbeat ditty to herself as she trotted over to Nancy's home. She had not seen her friend nor her family for almost three days now, but it had happened that she got so focused with making something fancy that she forgot to get some sunshine every now and again. She reached the door and rapped on it three times. "Nancy, are you in there? It's Bree."

Bree perked up and leaned in closer to the door. The house was silent for a few seconds before Bree heard movement from inside the house. She smiled to herself and straightened back up just in time for Nancy to open the door. Nancy smiled when she saw Bree and opened the door a little more. "Hey, Bree. What brings you here?"

Bree returned Nancy's smile. Her friend looked very well groomed and rested, so she clearly was taking care of herself. Yes, this was likely just Nancy loosing track of time. "Good afternoon, Nancy. I was wondering if your parents were around. You see, My Mom was getting a little worried when they didn't show up for the party."

Nancy shook her head, her grin never leaving her lips. "I'm sorry, Bree. They are not around anymore."

Bree frowned and cocked her head. "Anymore?"

Nancy shook her head again with a little more force. "Nope. I'm having a tea party with Marabelle right now. Would you like to join?" Nancy leaned in and her voice took on a conspiratorial tone. "We're making brownies, then we're going to do our homework together!"

Bree flattened her expression and took a step backwards. "N-Nancy, did you say 'Marabelle'?"

"I did, Bree!" Nancy chirped. "I really did, didn't I? She and I have been reconnecting for the past few days now that that meanie doesn't have her locked away anymore. In fact—"

Nancy's head perked up and she swiveled in the direction of the kitchen. "Did you say something?" Silence was her only reply, but Nancy nodded as if someone had. "Okay, I'll tell her." Nancy turned her attention back to Bree. "I'm sorry, Bree. Marabelle wants it to be just us this time. I'm sure you understand. Maybe we can get together sometime next week, okay?"

Bree slowly reached out a hand and touched Nancy's shoulder. "Nancy, I—"

The instant Bree's hand made contact, Nancy flinched back and an almost primitive snarl emanated from her throat. Bree snapped her hand back and flinched away. Nancy stared intently at Bree for a few seconds before her wide smile returned. "I'm sure we can set up some time later. Marabelle says that next week may not work, but we'll figure something out."

"Nancy, please talk to me!" Bree pleaded. "What do you mean with this 'Marabelle' business?"

Nancy shrugged and began slowly closing the door. "I told you, Bree. Marabelle and I are catching up. We have a lot more to do, so if I could get back to that..."

Bree shot an arm forward and blocked the door. "Nancy, where _are_ your parents?!"

Nancy giggled and continued closing the door. "I told you, they're not here anymore. It's just me and Marabelle."

"Nancy, stop it with the Marabelle nonsense at once!" Nancy continued closing the door, slowly crushing Bree's hand as she did. "Nancy, you're hurting me!"

"It's not nonsense, Bree," Nancy insisted. "It's just us catching up. Now if you'll excuse me, please."

Bree moved her other hand and forced the door open a little more. "Nancy, please let me in so I can talk to you!"

Nancy pushed back on the door just as Bree poked her head inside The door pressed against her neck, but Bree was able to scan the inside of the living room. The first thing that caught her eye was a glint of red staining the floor. She shrieked when she realized what it was. "Nancy, why is there blood on the floor?!"

"Bree, Marabelle says that she just wants us to be together today!" Nancy snarled. "I'll talk to you _later_!"

At the word 'later', Nancy slammed her body into the door, smashing the edge against the side of Bree's head. Bree groaned in pain, but forced herself to look around the room for the source of the blood. Bloody feathers were scattered around the floor, and She saw what could only be Nancy's footprints in the blood. Finally, her eyes locked onto a crumpled mess in the corner. She inhaled sharply when she saw who it was.

"JOJO!" she screamed.

Jo Jo lay unmoving in the corner. Her head was twisted nearly backwards, revealing a long, jagged gash at the throat. Her eyes were glazed over, and her mouth was twisted in a silent scream. In her hands were the plucked remains of Nancy's boa.

A burst of noise accompanied a flying black object shot forth from Nancy, knocking Bree back. She grunted as she collided with the ground, and a jolt of pain coursed through her skull. She snapped her head up just in time to see a magical glow encase the door, windows, and the surrounding house. Slowly the walls of the house began creeping up on the door and windows, sealing the home shut. Bree could only scream as she watched Nancy's home slowly revert back into nothing more than a prison.

Amidst her screams, Bree was only barely able to make out the giggling voice of Nancy. "Sorry for that, Marabelle. Bree can be kinda forceful when she wants to spend time with me. Would you like some more tea?"

Bree began sobbing and dragged herself over to where the door used to be. "Nancy! Nancy, what's happened to you?!"

"I like this, Marabelle. It's just you and me now. It should have always just been you and me. Just you and me. Just you and me."

Bree began pounding on the walls, and was about to let out another scream when she heard a guttural voice echo out of the house.

"Just you and me."


End file.
